Top Down

From the Gonzales Memo, explaining the last of Secretary Powell’s many objections to abandoning the Geneva Conventions:

“A determination that GPW does not apply to Al Qaeda and the Taliban could undermine US Military culture which emphasizes maintaining the highest standards of conduct in combat, and could introduce an element of uncertainty in the status of adversaries.”

The next line in the memo is Gonzales’ response:

“On balance, I believe the arguments for reconsideration and reversal are unpersuasive.”